The Swan Prince
by SebastianSohmaMichaelis
Summary: Prince Eren has been taken prisoner by an evil enchantress, and placed under a spell that turns him into a swan under the moonlight. The only way the spell can be broken is a vow of everlasting love. Prince Levi is Eren's only hope with the help of Eren's new friends, Mikasa, Armin, and Jean.
1. Chapter 1

*I would like to point out that this fanfiction contains a homosexual relationship. Though to some, it is a popular ship, to others, it is not kosher. So I want to put this note as a warning. If you don't ship Eren x Levi or you are uncomfortable with a two male relationship, you might want to exit this fanfiction. Otherwise, enjoy and let me know what you think.

Chapter 1

Once upon a time in a faraway kingdom, there lived a noble king. He was a kind and gentle leader, but he had no children to inherit his crown. And then one day, a son was born, a prince of the realm. And he was given the name, Eren. The whole kingdom rejoiced and celebrated for the birth of the new prince. A grand ball was held in Eren's honor; kings and queens from neighboring kingdoms came to bless the child and celebrate him. Among these guests were Queen Petra and her young son, Prince Levi.

Queen Petra sent young Levi to where Eren lay with a special gift. When Levi approached the throne, he peered over the side and looked at the babe. Levi couldn't understand the fuss that was being made over this child; he was nothing more than a baby, he didn't do anything of interest, and yet, people from kingdoms near and far, have come all this way to see him. Levi took the key necklace from his pocket and handed it to Eren. He took it with his little fingers and giggled happily.

It was at that moment, King Yeager and Queen Petra happened upon the same idea; Eren and Levi will get together in the summer in hopes that they will one day fall in love and unite the kingdoms. But, not everyone had the same idea; the evil enchantress, Annie, wanted to take King Yeager's kingdom for herself. Eren was of little interest to her, for she had developed a plan to take the kingdom, by means of the Forbidden Arts. One night, as Annie and her assistants, Reiner and Berthold, prepared for the takeover of the kingdom when King Yeager attacked. His soldiers smashed everything in Annie's hideout, plunging her powers into darkness.

Despite those in the kingdom that called for her death, Annie was only banished. As she turned to leave, she looked back over her shoulder and said, "I'm not finished with you yet Yeager. Someday, I will get my power back. And when I do, everything you love will be mine." King Yeager demanded her to leave. And in time, Annie's threat was forgotten. And the kingdom looked forward to the not so distant summer when Eren and Levi would meet.

Oruo kept a close watch for the arrival of King Yeager and Prince Eren. Finally, Oruo saw the royal white horse carrying the king and his son. He took up the horn and alerted Queen Petra and Prince Levi of their arrival. Petra escorted Levi to the gate, he was less than pleased about this whole situation. Oruo walked over to Petra to inform her that their guests were arriving on schedule. King Yeager, atop his steed, came around the corner and through the castle gate. King Yeager's horse stopped before the queen and the prince and King Yeager dismounted.

"Dear Petra, you're looking lovely as ever." King Yeager laid his eyes upon the boy standing next to Petra. "And young Prince Levi, you have grown."

"Welcome to our fair kingdom King Yeager, and to you young Prince Eren." Petra said. Eren dismounted from the horse and looked grumpily at his hosts. Eren was nervous and unsure about his need to be there. Levi was less than pleased as well. King Yeager pushed Eren toward Levi and encouraged him to say hello and introduce himself. Petra did the same. "Go on Levi, dear, go on."

"Mother!" Levi complained. She scolded him and demanded he greet his guest. Levi slumped his shoulders and walked to Eren. They faced each other and Levi said hello, just as he was told. "Hello, Prince Eren." He rolled his eyes. "I'm very pleased to meet you."

Eren sighed heavily. "Pleased to meet you, Prince Levi."

Levi walked back to his mother, all the while thinking, 'I can't believe I'm stuck with this worm all summer'. Petra raised her eyebrow at Levi, causing him to sigh and turn back to Eren. "So..happy you could come, Eren."

Eren looked back to his father for help, to no avail. Yeager nodded his head toward Levi. Eren grinned as wide as he could manage and replied, "So happy to be here." Petra and Yeager encouraged the two of them to play together. By tea time, Levi chased Eren with a wooden sword while Eren's was in a vise grip in his hands. Levi was not backing down but neither was Eren; he fought back with all of his might. "This is not my idea of fun." Eren said to himself.

As they watched their children play, Yeager and Petra chatted amongst themselves about how joyous it would be to unite their kingdoms.

"The children seem to get along quite nicely." Petra complimented.

"Our lands will be united in no time." Yeager replied.

"So happy we agree."

"I think we have a deal. This is my idea of a match." They shook hands and prepared the table for tea time.

As the summers had come and gone, it was proving to be more of a challenge to get Eren and Levi together. One summer, Yeager had prepared to enter the carriage heading for Queen Petra's castle when he noticed his son was not entering the carriage with him. He looked all around for Eren, growing more frustrated the longer he hid. Yeager finally saw Eren in the window and called to him, "Good heavens, child, don't dawdle! We can't keep Levi waiting!"

"I haven't packed yet, and not to mention I get seasick. Must I really go, Father?"

"Eren, come now." Eren angrily slumped down the stairs to join his father and begin the journey. Meanwhile, Petra checked on Levi to ensure he was prepared to receive their guests. Petra was alarmed to find Levi shooting arrows at a hand-drawn picture of Eren. "Levi! They will be arriving soon. And take down that picture, it's disrespectful and not how a prince should behave." Levi scoffed at his mother and fired another arrow. Later, his close friend, Eld Jinn, had come to the castle to play. Levi and Eld Jinn took any opportunity to ditch Eren and leave him out of everything. Once, Levi and Eld Jinn convinced Eren to hide in a broom closet as part of a game. Eren caught on to them after being in there for ten minutes. When Eren caught up with them, Levi and Eld Jinn were racing down the halls and sliding on the rails.

"Hey guys, wait up." Eren called out to them.

"Quick Levi!" Eld Jinn lead Levi to the tree house that was built for the boys. They climbed the ladder and lifted it back into the tree house before Eren could climb up. Eld Jinn laughed at Eren, they displayed a sign they made that read, "Eren Not Allowed" and Eld Jinn laughed as he said to Levi, "You'd think he'd learn to take a hint and learn to read."

"This really isn't fair." Eren shouted.

"Don't care." Levi said. In anger, Eren kicked the support beam. The force of his kick shook the tree house, causing it to crumble to pieces. Eren, Levi, and Eld Jinn ended that summer in bandages and casts. Anyone could see they didn't get along, but the kingdoms remained hopeful that they would one day realize their feelings for each other. Long before they met, Eren and Levi were destined to be wed. Though, the boys were more than rebellious; anyone in the kingdom could see that there were few points on which they didn't disagree. The only thing they could agree on was that summers were not as much fun.

Another summer came and as per usual, Levi and Eren were finding it difficult to get along. Now that they left childish games behind, they began to groom each other to take over the throne. Eren would sit in the throne room with a small crown on his head. Levi often tried to scare the wits out of Eren by putting scary animal masks on his head and sneaking up on him. One day, Levi and Eld Jinn took a walk through the castle and found Eren chatting up a servant girl in the castle. She stood very close to Eren and they were laughing a lot. Eld Jinn peeked at Levi's expression and nudged his shoulder.

"What's your problem?" Eld Jinn asked.

"Look at him; talking to that…girl. She's not even royalty."

"I think you sort of like him." Eld Jinn stated, walking back the way they had come.

"What did you say?" Levi asked as he followed.

"Just fess up."

"I'd like him better if he'd lose at cards. He beat me again."

"Maybe you should challenge him again, and get him away from that servant girl." Levi nodded his head and went over to Eren. Eren agreed to play another round of cards with him. In the drawing room, Levi and Eren were about to close the end of the game. Levi laid out his hand; he smirked at Eren as he read them off, "Four sevens and a ten". Levi folded his arms and waited for Eren to admit defeat.

"I think I won again; Four Aces."

"Every time!" Levi slumped back in his chair, defeated once again.

"This is my idea of fun." Eren giggled.

"It isn't mine." Levi responded.

Just like the summers before, that one came and went in the blink of an eye. And even sooner, came the year when Eren and Levi would be old enough to assume their thrones and the last attempt to unite the two of them. The winter before, King Yeager had grown desperate and discouraged. He walked to his study and wrote a letter to Queen Petra. He pleaded with her to help him; he was concerned that Eren would be too stubborn and wouldn't agree to the merger. He explained to her that he had been talking it over with Eren that year but he seemed indifferent. Upon the receipt of King Yeager's letter, Queen Petra sent a reply right away. She assured him that if he urged Eren, he would come around to the idea.

King Yeager and Queen Petra had one last string of hope to cling onto when that final summer finally came. They went to fetch their sons but were locked out of their rooms. Eren sighed and packed his things for the millionth time; he was growing tired of these trips every summer. From June to September, he was forced to spend time with a boy that was so immature and clearly didn't like him; it was insufferable. Levi was convinced that he could do so much better than a scrawny thing like Eren; Levi was forced into his finest clothes and shoved into the foyer of the ballroom. He hid in the corner and waited for Eren to arrive. Queen Petra hid behind the door and peeked through the crack to see what happened. King Yeager later shoved Eren into the same room and met with Petra to spy on the boys. Eren crossed his arms and faced the corner.

Eventually, Levi glared over his shoulder and was shocked to see that Eren was looking handsome that day. Levi instantly replaced his grimace for a smile. When Eren turned around, he felt weak in the knees. In that moment, his doubts about Levi melted away. Eren noticed the way Levi's muscles bulged out from his arms and the way his smile lit up his whole face. Eren even saw a glimmer in Levi's eyes as they walked toward each other.

Levi was surprised by how that look on Eren's face made his heart skip a beat. At first, Levi thought of him as nothing but an obnoxious, fat little brat and now, he could see the man Eren had become. Levi and Eren walked toward the center of the ballroom to face each other.

"Hello Eren, welcome." Levi said.

Eren bowed. "Happy to be here." Levi grinned and chuckled. "What?"

"It's nothing. It's just that, until now, I never knew…you're the one."

"Levi, do you really mean that?" Eren inched closer, hoping Levi would too. Levi grabbed Eren's hands and gazed into his eyes. "Levi," Levi didn't let him finish. He placed his finger over Eren's mouth.

"Don't speak, just dance with me."

Eren nodded. "Okay." King Yeager and Queen Petra were overjoyed. They called in the royal musicians, the caterers, and the servants. The ballroom transformed in the blink of an eye, and in the center, Eren and Levi danced. As they gazed into each other's eyes, the world seemed to drift away from them. All that remained was the loving glow emanating from their hearts. They had never been so happy to be in each other's arms; this was their idea of love. Levi leaned in, wrapped his hand around Eren's head. Eren leaned in as well and placed his hand on Levi's shoulder. Tenderly, they kissed for the first time.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Levi broke the kiss and held Eren's hand. He addressed the ballroom that suddenly became occupied with Levi and Queen Petra's servants. "Arrange the marriage!" Levi announced. The servants erupted with applause and cheerful shouts. Petra and Yeager embraced with joy; their plan had worked. They were thrilled that Levi and Eren cooperated and fell in love, and now they had the union of their kingdoms to look forward to. Except, one thing stood in the way. Eren was uneasy by the sudden announcement. He had to know for sure Levi's true feelings for him and if it was enough.

"Wait." Eren cried out. Immediately, the joyful noise cut off; everyone glared at Eren with shock and dismay in their eyes. Yeager was less than pleased with his son but he waited patiently to hear what he had to say.

"What?" Levi asked, confused as well. "This is what we wanted for so long."

"Do you mean us or you and our parents? Is this really what you want?"

"Of course it is."

"But why?" Eren asked. Yeager cleared his throat and shook his head at Eren. He paid no attention and continued. "Why do you want to marry me?" Levi was stunned into silence, he had no idea how to respond. Petra pushed Levi to answer him.

"I…" Levi struggled. "I don't know." Erwin, Queen Petra's most loyal council, smacked his forehead with great shame for Levi. Eld Jinn muttered under his breath, "Wrong answer" and scoffed at the distraught lovers.

Eren sighed heavily as his heart grew heavy. "Then I guess we're done here." Eren turned from Levi, his hand slipped free of Levi's without a fuss. Yeager and Petra exchanged disappointed looks and then agreed it was time to end their summer together. Eren and King Yeager called for the servants to prepare the horses for their departure. Petra and Levi silently walked Yeager and Eren to the gate with their horses. Eren immediately mounted his steed and didn't look in Levi's direction. Yeager mounted his horse as well and turned to say his farewells.

"We tried Petra, no one can say we didn't try." Petra glared at Levi and sighed heavily. "Say goodbye Eren." Yeager told his son.

"Goodbye." Eren muttered.

"Goodbye?" Yeager insisted.

"Goodbye Prince Levi." Eren said.

Petra nudged Levi with her elbow. "Mother!" Levi complained. Petra glared at him with angry eyes and nodded toward Eren. Levi sighed and said, "Goodbye Prince Eren." Eren clicked for his horse to walk on and leave the castle behind him. Levi longingly stared after Eren as he watched him leave. When Eren looked back to get one last glimpse of Levi, Levi turned his head away and Eren's heart broke a little more.

"All these years…wasted. All of that time, and nothing to show for it." Petra said as she walked away from Levi. He sighed heavily again and internally kicked himself for being such an idiot. Eren and Yeager arrived at their carriage where it was kept. They would resume the remainder of their journey home in the carriage. The footman held the horses steady as the two royals dismounted and entered the carriage. The horses were then roped and attached to the guarding soldier's horses. Yeager hardly spoke to Eren, trying to decipher what went wrong and how things could have been.

King Yeager wasn't the only one who couldn't get the thoughts of that rejected proposal out of his head. Levi, Eld Jinn, and Erwin convened in the library; Eld Jinn and Levi began a game of chess while Erwin scolded Levi. The beautiful and joyous summer day turned into a dark and stormy night; The lightning flashed and the thunder crashed, as the rain poured down. Eld Jinn and Levi paid no mind to the weather, for Levi had more pressing concerns.

"You said 'I don't know'? What on earth were you thinking Levi?" Erwin criticized.

"I know it was dumb. I didn't know what else to say." Levi sighed, pushing a knight further on the board to advance to Eld Jinn's side.

"You're about to lose your king, Levi." Eld Jinn cautioned him, as that last move put Levi close to check mate.

"That wouldn't be the first time." Levi said.

"Think!" Erwin insisted. "There has to be a reason you want to marry Eren other than uniting the kingdoms."

"Of course Erwin. He's so…and how about…and then…am I right?" Levi looked to Eld Jinn and Erwin, both of whom were unconvinced at Levi's proclamations. "I don't know how to say it." Levi thought for a moment. As the lightning struck, an idea struck Levi. "I'll prove it, I'll prove my love." Levi looked down at the board. "Eld Jinn, stop cheating." Eld Jinn shrugged his shoulders.

Meanwhile, Annie waited for the royal carriage to come down the road, where she would strike. "Today's the day Yeager. Everything you love, will be mine." Inside, Yeager broke down and asked Eren what was on his mind.

"Are you going to tell me what that was back there?" Yeager asked.

"I love Levi, I do, but I can't marry him just for the sake of the kingdoms."

"I just don't understand, what else did you want him to say?" Yeager asked.

"I need to know that he loves me too, for just being me." Eren said. The captain of the guard halted the horses. A strange figure was standing in the middle of the road. Yeager poked his head out from the carriage to see the blockage. When he saw Annie standing there, his heart filled with fear. Before his very eyes, Annie waved her arms in the air with great magic. She transformed into a hideous beast; with a powerful roar, she charged the guards and the carriage. In a flash, the guards were killed and Eren was missing.

The door to the library slammed open, startling Levi, Eld Jinn, and Erwin. The captain fell to the floor, in a pool of blood oozing from his torn midsection. He was barely hanging on and yet he bravely rode back to the castle to seek help. Levi dashed to the wounded man and lifted his head. "It's King Yeager's captain."

"We…we were attacked…by a great…animal." He drew his last breath. Levi gently laid down the captain's head and grew concerned for Eren's safety.

"Eren!" Levi cried out as he raced to the stables.

"Levi, wait!" Erwin tried to reason with him; the storm was too big to attempt and there was little chance that the prince was still alive. Levi didn't care; he leapt upon his horse and raced up the road. The thunder crashed around him as he raced through the pouring rain. When Levi happened upon the broken carriage, he panicked.

"Eren!" He cried out. "Eren, where are you? Eren?" He yanked open the carriage door to find no one inside. He looked around and noticed Eren's necklace laying in a puddle of mud. He picked it up and cradled it in his hands. He looked around one more time and found King Yeager lying in the rain, grasping his abdomen and panting in pain. "King Yeager, oh no."

"Oh Levi" He exclaimed.

"What happened here?" Levi asked as he cradled King Yeager's hand.

"It came so quickly, we didn't have time to get away."

"Where is Eren?" Levi asked.

"Listen to me Levi, it's not what it seems. It's not what it seems."

"What's not? Where is Eren?" Levi persisted.

"The Great Animal." Yeager looked next to him and saw no one there. "Eren…is…g..gone." King Yeager had died right there by the destruction of his soldiers and the wreckage of his carriage. Levi was overcome with grief. He cried out Eren's name and sank into the mud. He slammed his fist into the ground and cursed the wind.

"I'm going to find you Eren." Levi declared.

Through the woods, and over the waterfall, laid an abandoned castle overlooking Swan Lake. No one in the outer kingdoms had set foot there in years, and therefore, many have forgotten its existence. The moon was rising over the castle, just about to cast its brilliant light over the lake. Annie had adopted the castle as her hideaway for the duration of her banishment; she stood on the bank by the water. Her servant, Berthold, silently tossed some crumbs to a beautiful white swan swimming close to the water's edge.

"Please don't look so sad Eren. The spell doesn't even last the whole day, as soon as the moon comes up, you'll be a prince once again. Just look." Annie pointed to the moon as it was finally at the highest point in the sky. Eren looked around him as a bright, yellow light glowed around the shadow of the moon. The water splashed and encased Eren inside; in a flash, Eren was transformed from a swan back into a prince, just as Annie said. "And that's how it works every night. If you want to be a human again, you'll have to be on the lake of course."

"You're disgusting." Eren sneered at her.

"This sort of thing doesn't give me any pleasure." Annie thought about it. "Well, maybe a little bit, but what I really want is your father's kingdom."

"Take it then, you have enough power."

Annie laughed. "No thanks, tried that already. The problem with taking something, you'll spend your whole life trying to keep it. But, if I married the king's only son, we could rule the kingdom together, legally as King and Queen."

"Never!" Eren yelled. He immediately turned away from Annie and tried to run away.

"You'll never get away that easily Eren. As soon as the moon leaves, you'll turn back into a swan. No matter where you go." Eren stopped running; he knew there was no point of escaping if he was stuck as a swan. Eren felt hopeless.

Erwin prepared the targets for Levi and Eld Jinn's practice session. Levi asked Erwin to set up dummies of all shapes and sizes, to resemble any number of animals. Levi set a goal to take down as many as he could in three minutes. "That should just about do it." Erwin said.

"Good work Erwin. This will prove to be useful."

"I just don't understand why you're working so hard." Erwin said.

"The Great Animal is never going to give him up without a fight, so I need to be prepared for anything."

"You're not still thinking that he's alive?!"

"When I find the Great Animal, I'll find Eren." Levi proclaimed.

"Levi, he's not coming back, the whole kingdom knows that."

"The whole kingdom's wrong; Eren is alive and I'm going to find him. Get ready to record my time."

Erwin sighed. "Very well. Get ready…set….go!" Erwin started the clock and watched while Levi immediately flew through the air. He cut and slit each dummy that fell into Levi's path. Levi grunted and huffed, but he never slowed his pace. Levi pictured Eren's face in his mind and he channeled it into fuel to keep fighting. He was such a fool for not telling Eren his feelings when he had the chance. He vowed to himself that he would never let something like this happen again. If it was the last thing Levi did, he was going to get Eren back.


End file.
